The Sun Who Only Got Glares From Her Passers-by
by Blee Bleep
Summary: Some people didn't mind her. Others did and only squinted and didn't exactly know what they looked at. Some hid when she was at her most and some complained when she hid. But she didn't care. She just wanted to be like Shiny Chariot. (Basically a rewritten Akko but Author sucks at summaries and titles and also writing stories)
1. Chapter 1

"I'm going to apply for Luna Nova Academy!"

Her voice was loud and clear, as it had always been, the words ringing across their abode as the brunette bore a bright, confident smile. Mr. and Mrs. Kagari stared at their child with incredulous faces. Of course, they had expected this proclamation at some degree, considering all of her Shiny Chariot merch that piled in her closet and her obsession with being a witch but they had always hoped that they wouldn't ever hear those words coming out of her. However, fate seemed to deny their request and their hopes were thrown out the window in the similar fashion of how their daughter once launched herself from a mountain slope and into the ground face-first.

Sighing, Mr. Kagari took off his glasses and looked away from his daughter's burning red eyes she had, (un)fortunately inherited from him. Taking out his handkerchief, he began to wipe them, a straight line gracing his features.

Mrs. Kagari glanced at her husband and then, seeing as he will not strike first, she locked eyes with her daughter and cleared her throat. "Come again, Akko?"

Sitting up a little straighter, the youngest Kagari fidgeted, not sure what her parents were thinking currently. "I, uh, want to attend to Luna Nova Academy, so I'm going to apply there!" She repeated, a smile blossoming in her face and she saw at the corner of her eye that her father had finally finished cleaning his glasses.

Pushing them up to the bridge of his nose, Mr. Kagari looked at her with a leveled gaze. "That's the prestigious school for witches in Britain, correct?"

Akko nodded. "It's a school for learning magic," She pulled out a pamphlet and placed it on the middle of the table. "They're complete with training and magic-practicing with dorms and all other stuff. Also…"

Mr. and Mrs. Kagari braced themselves for the answer that they had always expected.

"It's the school where Shiny Chariot attended!" Stars then again formed in Akko's eyes and all Mr. And Mrs. Kagari could do was stare at their child with passive looks.

Of course Shiny Chariot was related in this whole suggestion. What were they expecting, some kind of inspiration that suddenly impulse in their daughter? That girl's attention was hard to divert and though she was moody, most of the things she does mostly never concerned them and doesn't really tell them in the open like this (like her joining different activities and whatnot).

Picking up the purple pamphlet that Akko produced, Mrs. Kagari opened it to read its content. "It says here they have a written-exam this year in Tokyo, with one of the teachers overlooking it." The brunette woman recited as her husband looked over her shoulder to look at it.

"It'll be around this November, too." He added.

"Yep, and I'm going to take it! It'll be a piece of cake!" Akko said boastfully, her hands on her hips.

Well, not that they could deny that. Akko's report card had always shown high grades, never below a B- so this written exam would be as easy as writing for her. However, as assuring as Akko's past grades could be, they were still unsure on how to react to this statement.

"Do you know what the coverage of this exam would be?" Mrs. Kagari asked, passing the pamphlet to her husband.

"Nope!" That wasn't reassuring. "But I'm sure I'll learn the material. After all, magic is sort of like science, right? So how hard could it be?"

Mr. Kagari looked over the pamphlet, his glasses sliding down to his nose. The living room was silent now as the parents began to contemplate on whether or not to support their child in this dream of hers. Well, of course they would support it. However there was just that weird knot in their stomachs that told them that it might be a dangerous idea to send her to wherever she wanted. She was a magnet of calamities and she never seemed to hesitate to charge in an unknown topic despite all the scars she has (which she has never taken as a lesson).

The pair of Kagaris turned to each other and Akko fidgeted in her seat.

 _Oh no_ , she thought. _It's that look again._ Whenever they share a silent glance at each other, the brunette knew they just weren't going to agree with this idea of hers yet.

After a piece of thick silence covering the three for a few moments, Mr. and Mrs. Kagari turned to Akko and said in unison, "We'll think about it."

-.-.-.-.-.-

"So…" Megumi nock another arrow into her bow and placed it steadily between the closure of her gloved index and middle finger. "Did they agree with you?"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Akko shaking her head a 'no'. She let go of the string and the arrow's bullet point placed itself firmly on the upper magpie. "They didn't disagree but they said they'll think about it," Akko said as Megumi took another arrow from her quiver.

She was about to nock another arrow again until she saw Akko's own stabbing itself into the inner circle. For a girl who only started archery not three months ago, she was already a charm at it. Granted she did have a firm grip and nice body posture, Megumi didn't really think Akko would be as stiff as she would be right now. She couldn't hold still for less than five minutes if she didn't want to.

Hadn't Megumi already told her about that, she would comment it again but it seems that Akko wasn't in the mood for praises. Megumi held out her arm and began to pull the string away from the riser and with accuracy; she hit the bull and earned another 10 points. "Hmmm, if I were in your shoes, I would just wait for their response, Akko-chan. No need to get all worked up if they don't give you a concrete answer." She said and lowered her bow.

"Yeah, but what if they say no!? I'll never become a witch at this rate!" The brunette moaned and Megumi giggled. "Hey, it's not funny, Megu-nee."

"I know, I know but it's just so amusing for you to still be thinking about Shiny Chariot." The older girl mused. And with that, Akko's arrow planted itself outside the target and into the ground.

Akko grumbled at her missed shot and faced Megumi with a pout. "Need I remind you that Shiny Chariot is the best witch ever!? And I'll stop at nothing to get in her level!" The brunette proclaimed as she wore a grin. "I'll have Mom and Dad agree with this, just you wait!"

Megumi smiled softly as the younger girl began to babble again about how marvelous Shiny Chariot is and honestly, she didn't mind. If fact, she would've left Akko drone on about her if it meant her smiling again. But then she noticed the hue of the sky turning brighter, an orangey tint looming over their clubroom and the older girl took a look at her watch. 5:29.

The captain of the archery club looked over to Akko. "Club has been dismissed twenty minutes ago, Akko. Do you want to practice more?"

That stopped the girl from waving around her bow and turned to her. "Huh? Oh yeah, it's getting late…" she placed a finger on her chin and began to contemplate as Megumi jumped down from the wooden platform and began to collect the arrows that they launched. And behind her back, she heard Akko putting down her quiver of arrows and placing back their bows in their places. "Okay, I think I'll stop for today."

"Good," Megumi replied as she pulled out the last arrow from the targets and walked back towards the platform. "But before that, how about we'll get something to eat on the way home?"

Akko's head spun to face her, stars forming in her eyes as she gasped. "You mean it!?"

Megumi nodded. "Yeah, it'll be my treat. I was thinking about crepe this afternoon, actually."

The younger girl instant reply was to tackle her in a hug, squealing and jumping up and down like the kid that she was. "THANK YOU SO MUCH, MEGU-NEE!" She screamed into her chest.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Megumi spent the rest of the night researching about Luna Nova Magical Academy. It was half-pointless. Although it was featured in some pages, the academy didn't even have its own page nor did it show anything about the exam, no matter how much she travelled down the deep web and while she normally did that out of sheer boredom, her excursion didn't seem to have any merits this time.

She had always thought Europe was advance in technology, especially Britain but why hadn't she found anything related to it? She placed her hand on her chin and stared at the Wikipedia page where pictures of Luna Nova's buildings and students were pasted. But there was barely a paragraph of info under every picture so what Megumi was, was stumped.

After a few more moments of going inside in every website that has available information about the Academy, she decided to close her laptop. She wanted to help Akko enroll there and the examination was just three months away but she didn't know what she could do to help.

Hmmm… maybe she shouldn't research about the school… but research about the coverage for the examination.

While Megumi should be concerning herself over her _own_ studies for the course that she'll pick, she somewhat couldn't and instead wanted to focus on something else. Thinking about all those exams that were coming this Autumn was rather vexing to her anyway. Akko, however, seemed to be so eager to go to the school she wants to go compared to her and she's been rambling on about being a witch since she was six. So Megumi couldn't just leave for college and leave Akko all alone with an empty heart. She's been babysitting the girl since she was nine so she knew how heartbroken the girl would be if her dream couldn't come true.

From all Megumi knew, Akko never asked for anything but that so it was unfair that she couldn't get dream to be fulfilled. So Megumi decided to help her all the way through. And she also ought to learn from her about gaining motivation from getting accepted to schools…

Wanting to do something other than moping around on her desk, she ripped out her English assignment off her bag and began to answer it, not caring if it was only due by the end of the week. She just wanted to do something while she could think on how she could help Akko study.

Since there was nothing on the internet about witches, except maybe for the famous ones like Shiny Chariot and the Fortune Teller Michelle but they only did Interviews (and even that was scarce), she'll just have to scavenge up some information from libraries.

Chitose University, the school she and Akko were attending, had two libraries the size of mansions so she has a chance that she could perhaps find a book about magic. A slim one but a chance is a chance, and Megumi will gladly take it.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Akko gawked at the stack of thick, old books in front of her, accidently sniffing the dust through her stupor and sneezed. Well, it's technically not a stack because there are only three of them but each one was so thick they managed to reach at least two feet high. The brunette was appalled.

Megumi sat on the chair opposite of her. "Well, I did my best to find them all, Akko-chan." Megumi said.

"I'm going to read all this!?" Akko shouted and she was immediately shot back by 'shh' from the nearest students. She flinched slightly, murmuring a sorry towards their disapproving scowls and then turned back to Megumi with worried eyes, whispering, "I can't do that."

The senior high student shrugged. "Well, you don't have to but since we don't know anything about the coverage of the Luna Nova exam, you might as well study all, given the fact that there's always a chance that everything you studied might be there. Besides, didn't you want to learn magic, Akko-chan?"

"Yeah, but…" She took the first book from the top but it was heavier than the University's English and Japanese Dictionaries. Her arms began to shake then gave up, the book slamming down on the table and dust burst out from it, causing the two girls to cough as they fanned it away. When the dust subsided, Akko opened the brown, leather cover with a star and a wand carving on it and skipped towards one the middle of the faded pages. When she looked over the book, she turned to Megumi with an expression that said 'are-you-believing-this' while her palm was motioning on the book. "Look at this!"

Megumi glanced at the page and saw English in cursive writing written on it. And despite understanding English, what she read was... gibberish.

"What's 'Dark Plague'?" Megumi asked.

"M-Maybe the thing that happened during the 1500's? Argh, I don't know. And it's written in English, too," Akko moaned as she started to flip through the book, her expression becoming even more confused.

"Well, you understand English so it's fine." Megumi replied, remembering their old English tutor. He was teacher Akko's parents hired for the brunette to get another interest aside from magic and Shiny Chariot but it only became another reason why she could go to a different country without concern since she can't have trouble communicating with the people (but Megumi was still mystified on why she was roped in with the lessons).

"Yeah, but—look at all these things! I don't even know what 'Magic Astronomy' is!" Akko said as she stopped at the page where a symbol that looked like David's Star was drawn but in a much more complex way with a lot more lines and circles. Megumi readied her hands to swipe and burn the book if she ever saw Akko stumbling on a page where some demonic entity was drawn.

"Well, why don't we try to take it slow then?" Akko turned to Megumi who tried to smile softly at her which half-failed. "Let's just start with something easy like…" The older girl took the next book, which was thinner than the one Akko was flipping through and opened its purple cover. Megumi began to breeze through the pages, scanning them as quickly as she could. Soon, a chapter caught her eye and she turned it to Akko. "This."

Akko looked over to the page and found exquisite drawings of different plants written on it, paragraphs of information next to them. Although they were alien to the eye, the brunette was enthralled to see the pretty drawings. "Cool!" she chirped and took the book from her. "They look like one of those plants from those fantasy games."

"They do, don't they." Megumi sighed in relief as Akko began to read the book with interest, one of her bright smiles on her lips.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Akko's study with magic had gone without a hitch. Noted she didn't really try anything magical for the lack of 'magic' in her surroundings, but she did study them closely. Well, tried to, anyway. Most of the things she read didn't correspond at all to the laws of science and physics and while Akko was more than happy to have gained some sort knowledge, some of them just befell on the range of mysteries that were more baffling than the questioning the existence of unicorns.

Speaking of those species, Akko didn't know that they were connected to some of the Nine Old Witches of Luna Nova Academy. Who would've thought that platinum horseshoes, rainbow mane and candy-colored horns would be so essential with potions and weapons?

As Akko read off the one of the books, she walked across the hallways of the school, melon bread stuffed in her mouth, straying farther and farther from her classroom where she knew she wouldn't be able to study without receiving strange looks. After all, from her definition, strange looks meant whispers and whispers meant rumors and rumors meant _them_. And of course, with them around, studying will be as good as finding a unicorn around the city.

So Akko continued to walk through the other side of the first building built for middle school students. She chose it solely because of its half-deserted interior and although there were two or three people walking around, they didn't show any interest on what the school's most infamous disaster show-off was doing with a book about magic. That alone would've sent them flipping over a table, hid behind it and wait for an explosion right then.

But they were quiet all the way. And as for the brunette, she was nose deep in the book, finishing off her melon bread, smooching off all her self-control to focus on the writings and not get mad over all the letters circulating in her head that almost didn't make any words but somehow did, thus not noticing that her left foot had accidently hit her right foot's shin, causing her foot rhythm to mess up. As so, with the added weight of the heavy book in her hands, she lost her balance and tripped forward, her book flying out from her hands.

"Oof!" she groaned when her chin planted itself into the floor, her lunch swirling in her stomach.

It was the third time she tripped over nothing that month.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch…" Amidst of her unfortunate tumble, she heard a snicker of a jackal coming from her front.

"Whoa-hoa!" A familiar voice laughed and Akko sat up. There she saw Natsumi, one of the school's infamous delinquent, stepping down the stairs, Wataho and Hiro following behind her with curious looks.

Akko's first reaction to them was giving a scowl. "Natsumi," she muttered and the delinquent barely grinned at her amusingly.

"Oh, it's Akko," Hiro said, tugging his hoodie down from his head and Wataho circled around them to help the fallen girl up.

"Here, let me help you there, Akko." she said, lending the girl a hand.

Akko instantly became wary of the three by the time she stood up. Not at the other two but the girl who had the school blazer wrapped around her waist. Natsumi was definitely someone Akko wanted to avoid, considering one of her last interactions with her was involved with a rather mean bruise on the head and a concussion.

"What were you doing with this?" Wataho was kind enough to crouch down to the book, taking it from the floor and her arms almost faltered from the weight of it.

"It looks heavy." Hiro commented, taking it from her but the heaviness didn't bother the burly teen.

"It's…" Akko hesitated to answer them so she only replied, "Something." And began to collect the pieces of paper that had accidently fell from the book but unfortunately, Natsumi had taken one of them and held it up.

After a moment, her face twitched into a confused expression and turned the paper to Akko. "What the hell is this?"

Akko saw the copy about potions and medical remedies and she paled at the sick, jackal-like grin forming on Natsumi's face. The brunette quickly swiped the paper from her hands, despite knowing she can't read English like her, and said, "I told you, it's something!"

"'Something'?" Natsumi scoffed, crossing her arms. "Right, something like…" The delinquent suddenly protruded another piece of paper related to the magical remedies Akko was studying, grinning as she turned it over to look at it again. "Something like…" she looked up and her brown, unnerving eyes shot to Akko. " _Unicorn_ potions?"

Natsumi burst into a rough cackle, holding her sides as Akko snatched the paper away, her ears turning to a light shade of pink.

"Seriously?" Hiro asked and opened the book, much to Akko's dismay and he knitted his brows by the time he looked over the pages he had opened.

"HAHAHAHAHA! What is this otaku-shit!?" Natsumi chortled, her small fang daring Akko to knock it off its gums.

Akko took away the book from the duo behind the still-laughing delinquent, stomped up to her and jutted her finger right at her face. "It's not anything 'otaku' related, Natsumi!"

Natsumi only grinned, infuriating Akko further and taunted, "Oh really? So what is it then? Some kind of rule book? Fat chance."

Oh, she had no idea… Akko was about to retort until she found Natsumi clutching again another one of the pages that had fell from the book and the brunette momentarily ponders how many papers she had snatched without her notice.

"Heh," Natsumi smirked. "What a chance to blackmail, what would the others think of this?"

Something inside Akko dropped down to her stomach. No, no, no, no, no, no, no… "Natsumi, give that back!" she yelled as she began to catch the piece of paper in Natsumi's palm but of course, Natsumi, being the taller and faster one, raised the paper out of the brunette's reach and Akko's swipes only caught air.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Wataho and Hiro looking uncomfortable but didn't do anything, eyes wide with slight fear glassing them. _Cowards_ , Akko thought bitterly. They only stared. People always did. Especially when she got into a fight and nobody would do anything but stare.

"Make me, shrimp!" She grabbed a handful of Akko's bangs and Akko yelped in pain. Her grip was strong but Akko felt worse. Her response to the hand that was clutching her hair was to take Natsumi's wrist and she shoved it down, not caring if the book and papers she held fell down to the floor again.

Akko was about to land a punch on Natsumi's face before a sudden force pulled her collar and another hand landed on her arm, strong enough to stop her clenched hand from hitting Natsumi but also gently, as to not hurt her. The touch instantly made Akko know who was behind her.

 _Oh, crap._

"Har—Harukoizomi-san!" Natsumi yelped in fear as Megumi stood in between the two, tearing them from each other's claws, Megumi's hands clutching both of their wrists and Akko's eyes got caught in Megumi's strict but soft dark eyes.

The thing that dropped in Akko's stomach dropped further down in oblivion. She hoped the melon bread she ate was having a nice time going down.

"Enough, you two." Megumi said with a margin of authority and the fact that she wore her red band on her arm that signaled her being part of the Chitose Senior High Student Council gave Akko and Natsumi no thought of disobeying her.

Akko suddenly realized that Wataho and Hiro weren't staring at them but at the lioness behind them. She ought to have known better. Akko gave one last glare at the delinquent before turning away slowly and Megumi's grip on their wrists slowly unclamped from them and they stayed still, not wanting to know what would happen if they pushed their squabble further.

"Akiba-san," The delinquent quickly froze at her surname. "Give me the paper." Megumi held out her hand and Natsumi slowly placed the piece of paper on her palm which Megumi gave back to Akko.

Akko quickly put last piece and began to pick up the book and papers that had spread not too far from her. She snuggled the book up to her chest and only continued to glare at Natsumi who shot back one glare of her own. Megumi noticed the tension between the two youngsters and then sighed.

"If you two don't want to end up at the principal's office again, I'll suggest that we should keep this to ourselves. Now, Akiba-san, what would it take for you to clam up?"

-.-.-.-.-.-

After some hard bargaining with the delinquent, Akko was finally free of the squabble with her, her book and papers finally back to her in one piece. Courtesy of Megumi's skills of tearing down fights of course. And while Akko had the favor of the student council representative, Megumi's service wasn't exactly free so now, the brunette was alone with the senior high student behind their school's gym.

"Akko," Megumi started, her arms crossed and Akko winced at the look of disapproval dressed in her face. "You almost got into a fight. _Again_."

 _No need to say it_ , Akko thought and glumly looked down, feeling a bit guilty, a bit regretful and a bit ashamed. Okay, maybe not a bit but a lot. Megumi was really good at making her go guilt-trips.

"If I hadn't intervened, you would've ended up at the clinic bed right now along with Akiba-san," Megumi pointed, placing back a stray lock of black hair behind her ear.

Akko was quick to defend. "She was the one who started it!"

Megumi's strict expression only softened to concern and Akko didn't want that. That was an expression that told her that this conversation was going to the same direction as all the conversations she had with Megumi about her getting into fights. It made her want to curl up to a ball and apologize repeatedly.

"Akko, you know it's not about who started it. It's about how you shouldn't escalate something that was started. I mean, not unless it's bad of course but, ah, you know what I mean." Megumi sighed.

The brunette couldn't help but look down again, her other hand touching the hem of her plaid green skirt. "…" she didn't say anything, or couldn't because she already felt ashamed of herself a lot right now and didn't want her mood to plummet down.

After a moment of silence, Megumi sighed again. "I'm not mad, Akko-chan," Megumi said. "I'm just worried."

Akko knitted her eyebrows. She snapped, "Grr, worried about what!?" She looked up and looked right into Megumi's eyes. "Worried that I'm not improving with my social life!? Worried that I'll be helpless once you graduate!? Megu-nee, you already know that no matter what, I won't get any friends in this school and I'm really fine—" Akko instantly stopped her ranting when she saw Megumi's eyes slowly sinking into woe as she listed off whatever she had said.

Akko realized her mistake of talking back as she could see clearly that she had hurt Megumi with her words and was about apologize before she was cut off. "I-I'm—"

"No, Akko," Megumi said and after, she contemplated, as if she was choosing her words carefully, and finally added, "I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about your studies."

… what? "Whu-What about my studies?" Akko asked, her brow rising above her bangs.

Another one of Megumi's smile curled and she said, very carefully, "The entrance exam for Luna Nova is just a month away. I'm worried that with all those bullies of yours, you won't get anything done and your chance with entering the academy would be as good as fried."

Akko's brain went to turmoil. Of course! OF COURSE! THE EXAM! "Ahh! You're right!" Akko yelled as she grabbed her hair, causing her book to fall down to the floor again and Megumi went to pick it up.

Megumi was right, Megumi was right, Megumi was RIGHT! She only had one month left to prepare for the exam! She didn't have any time to go looking for squabbles! She needed to study with all she can! Akko was only half-way through the second book and the last one was thicker than the one Akko was reading on so she had to do everything she can to absorb all the knowledge!

If she can't then she won't enter Luna Nova Academy and become a great witch like Shiny Chariot!

Megumi stood back up. "Akko-chan, you really need to be careful with your books—"

"Sorry, Megu-nee!" Akko quickly took the book away from her and with the speed of a rocket, she sped off towards the library. "I need to study otherwise I won't become like Chariot!" she added amidst her sprint, almost tripping once before turning to a left.

Akko hoped on the way she wouldn't meet any other people like Natsumi. The exam for Luna Nova Academy was enough to pile troubles on her plate so having more grudges to other people would do nothing to help the girl at all.

 _-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

 **Have you guys ever just planned to study in your comp and then suddenly you logged into Tumblr and LWA headcanons started to pop in your head and you completely forgot what you were supposed to do but didn't care and opted to make fanfics instead?**

 **Yeah, today in the house was pretty slow and the file just had to be so blank. So I whipped this out in a single day with no beta-reads, hue hue hue**

 **Anyway, if any of you are curious or are confused with the characters, I'm going to give some things here:**

 **Akko in this fanfic is roughly around fourteen to fifteen, who is in her third year of junior high and has to choose a high school for her senior years. She lives in a city with her parents and has no friends. I have headcanon that Akko is a hardcore student who's too much of a handful and there were hardly any students who could keep up with her quirks. Some, mostly adults, think that she's a delinquent because of all the fights she had that were written in her school report card. Other, students, thinks that she's a show-off and often bullies her for being too extreme, thus my idea of her being friendless.**

 **Now, Megumi is just my OC who I gave to Akko as a sister-model. She's a genius senior student who is about to go to college once she graduates high school. She knew Akko since she was young. Her and Akko's parents were friends and Mr. and Mrs. Kagari asked Megumi to guard the girl when they're not around, after many failures of other guardians and since they thought Akko and Megumi clicked. Megumi, turned out, was the only babysitter who could keep up with Akko's madness and is somewhat Akko's idol next to Shiny Chariot and that made her stick around, I guess.**

 **She also has a reputation in school (such as being a club captain and a top student) which grants her power over to Akko's assailants. And since she's one of the few people who could disarm and tame Akko instantly, she quickly became known for her talent of clearing fights and became part of the student council.**

 **LOL, just think of her as Chariot but stricter with a dash of Diana.**

 **Now, the entrance examination thing is the only thing I could think of as a reason why Akko was accepted in Luna Nova in the first place. Her background shows nothing of magic and of course, Japan doesn't have anything related to magic to perform anything near to the exams in Luna Nova (such as episode 7, I think?) so a written exam is the only thing that they could do to pick a student from Japan.**

 **Akko's determination of her studies gave me the idea of her standing back in Japan, a student who could've been great but some of her quirks made it impossible for her to achieve that. But since Akko could do literally everything if she focuses to it, she passed the Luna Nova written exam and got accepted.**

 **That's basically what this fanfic is. How Akko is before she came to Luna Nova. Now remember, all of this are just my headcanons being mushed together to create a self-indulgent fanfic for my favorite character. And since this thing is just something that was written from morning up to night, I'm not sure about continuing this. I might but touch chance.**

 **Reviews and critiques for this fanfic are accepted, and remember, this thing is not completely beta-read so whatevs. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

Megumi walked across the third hallway towards her classroom. She was wondering if Akko was in _that_ time of the month again, observing that Akko's mood swings were even more evoked this week. Akko was easy to anger but not _that_ quick, because her getting ready to slug someone who just taunted her of blackmailing was just too quick of a shift. And besides, if she knew anything about the girl, it was that she would return some witty retorts _before_ slugging someone.

And what she said today… Megumi shook her head. Akko was right, Megumi had nothing to worry about. Despite her standing in this school, Megumi shouldn't underestimate her being lonesome. But maybe she should've been prepared, seeing she could've brought some pickled plum and chocolate to calm Akko down. Ah, she'll buy them later. Right now, she has to go back to her classroom and take the remaining time to study for the quiz that Yatagi-sensei told them he was going to hold.

But as she was about three classrooms away from her own, she looked down over the windows to her right and saw, under the shade of a tree of the garden that connected the senior and junior high buildings, she found Akko nose-deep in her book, a notebook and pen in her hand and as far as Megumi could squint, she saw the pages of the notebook being filled with notes and paragraphs, causing her to crack a smile and stopping her walk.

Akko was really that determined to enter Luna Nova. The last time she saw Akko that serious was when she was a freshman, when she was almost got expelled from Chitose U for a severe fight that ended her up with a broken arm and gash on her shoulder and face. The only way for her to keep herself from getting kicked out was acing all of her final exams and she fortunately did just that.

It was a refreshing sight to see, Megumi mused. Now, if only there was one or two people with her under there…

"Hey, look. It's that Kagari girl."

Megumi froze.

"Huh? Oh, you mean the delinquent?"

"Yeah, her. Wow, she's gotten pretty tame for the last few months, huh? Wonder why."

"Whoa, sitting under a tree, all alone. Heheh, that's pretty sad."

A few feet behind Megumi, two boys began to look over to where Akko was sitting, marveling at the sight of some young, supposedly-normal girl doing something normal. They're becoming surprised that Akko hasn't done anything to choke up her school record? Megumi found herself staring at them for a few seconds before she quickly turned away, a thought telling her that chastising them would not be worth of her daylight.

"… wonder what she's reading about…" one of the boys asked.

"… probably something pretty weeb-like?" the other answered, chortling suddenly.

Megumi muted them out and basically marched all the way to her classroom, hands clenched to tight, white-knuckled balls.

No, Akko was wrong. If there were people who still mocks her from afar in her own home city then how could it be any better in Britain? Magumi is starting to doubt Akko's endurance.

-.-.-.-.-.-

This was the day. The day when she was going to take the Luna Nova entrance exam.

And Akko could not help but bounce on the balls of her feet with what she couldn't point as nervousness, excitement or downright anxiousness.

Megumi, who was tasked to accompany her during her examination, glanced away from her book and to the moving girl beside her, who somehow could not stay still on her seat. "You alright, Akko-chan?"

Akko didn't respond, only continuing to bounce on her heel with her hand running through her skirt, wiping them every now and then while murmuring words that Megumi could not decipher. _Ah_ , she thought. _She's nervous._

Knowing that she could not budge the brunette with words, she simply took out her hand and pinched Akko's left cheek, causing her to yelp in surprise. Akko touched the spot where Megumi had attacked her and asked, " _Whu-what_ —I mean, what are you doing, Megu—Megu-nee!?" she asked, accidently coming off in English in the first part.

She was stammering. Odd. Akko never stammered unless if she was feeling real, heavy feelings. Which meant… "Akko-chan, are you scared?" she asked cautiously.

The short brunette stopped moving, her eyes saucers-wide before her mouth twitched in an odd angle. "What… Well, what do you expect me to do, Megu-nee!?" she suddenly shot back, balling her fists tight. "I barely got any sleep last night! And what if I fail this exam!? What if I'm never going to get accept—"

Megumi quickly clapped her hands on both of Akko's cheeks, silencing the girl as dark eyes stared into Akko's red ones. The older girl took note of how cold her skin was. "Look. Just _calm_ down. And I know that statement is useless but try to listen to my voice." Slowly, her hands undid themselves from Akko's face, gently as possibly, like she was trying to settle an animal down.

Akko contemplates for a moment, studying Megumi's face for a bit before settling to close her eyes, wanting her gut to stop flipping and start acting normal for once. Her right hand fell onto her bag's sling, where she had kept all of her remaining notes about magic kept while the other fell onto her lap and started massaging the tunic. Damn it, she was so nervous.

"Take a breath." Megumi started and Akko heard a gentle suck of a breath which prone her to do the same. "Just focus on my voice," she added and they went on like that for a moment, synchronizing Akko's breathing before Megumi told her to open her eyes and name five things she could see.

Akko listed off in her head; the advertisement poster across her. The railways. The tiny pebble sitting on the edge to the railway. The guy standing just about four meters away from them. The analog clock to her right.

"Name four things you can touch."

The leathery handle of her bag. The texture of her skirt. Her scarf that clung to her neck. Her thigh's skin that had gone cold due to the weather.

"Three things you can hear."

A cell phone ringing from somewhere. The murmurs of people in the back. The loud horn of the train.

"Two things you can smell."

Megumi's strong, rosy perfume. The mixture of smog and snow.

"One thing you can taste."

Akko felt around her mouth and yes, the chocolate drink she had drunk earlier before leaving home has still lingering in her tongue. The short brunette leaned back to the bench and sighed. She knew it was silly, still using that technique of all things to calm her nerves but hey, for a hyper girl, she also had hyper thoughts not even she could sort out. She didn't exactly have anxiety, definitely not, but when she is nervous, her mind's a mess wackier than anything American shows can come up. And as distractible as she can be, once she's nervous about something, she wouldn't stop thinking of it until it has been finished.

"You okay now?" Megumi asked, leaning forward to see Akko's face. She smiled a bit when the younger girl nodded, returning a grateful smile.

"Yeah. Thanks, Megu-nee."

"No problem," Megumi looked over to the train coming to their way, the blares ringing in their ears as people started to crowd onto the spots where the doors of the train would open. She nudged Akko slightly as she said, "C'mon, the train is here."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Akko swallowed slightly as she faced the door to the room where she had learned where the Luna Nova examination would be held. She felt her heart race as she felt the cold doorknob against the tips of her fingers. She looked back, half-expecting Megumi to be behind her again only to see that she wasn't, remembering that she had been tasked to wait in the lobby instead of the halls. She held her Examiner's ID that hung in a blue cord. Cursing slightly, she looked back to the door handle. Her hand shook.

 _Thud, thud, thud_. Ughhh… she hates the way her heart is hammering in her ribcage right now. The exam that would either make or break her dream is just going to be beyond this door, and will now happen in seven minutes if her watch is accurate.

Closing her eyes, she repeated Shiny Chariot's catch phrase. _Believe in your believing heart. Believe in your believing heart. Believe, believe, believe…_

Rejuvenated by her childhood idol's catch phrase, she opened her eyes, her hand beginning to shakily the knob, now anticipa—

"Um, excuse me?"

"GEH!" Akko spun around so quickly, she had a moment of whiplash before she narrowed her eyes again. She stepped away from the door and bent down at a perfect 90 degree angle. "I'm—I'm so sorry!" Wait, what was she apologizing for? She hadn't done any—

"O-Oh, no, that's okay. And I'm sorry for startling you. You can stand up now."

It was a woman's voice, Akko's notices. She opens her eyes, albeit still feeling the heat radiating off her face from her blunder. She sees the floor and then a pair of dark heels. She looks up and saw a woman in her mid-twenties, standing beside the door, her blue hair which was tied to a ponytail that landed on her shoulder giving Akko the instant thought of a cosplayer. Her face was foreign, a Caucasian-descent, her face adorning a pair of glasses while she towered over Akko. She had red eyes, Akko notices, only that it had a much fiercer color in comparison to her own. Not wanting to keep eye-contact, Akko dared her gaze to move a little lowe—HOY BUDDHA! THAT'S CHEST SIZE IS ABSURD! Why do all Western ladies she sees always have irrational breast size!?

The young brunette felt a bit envious for a moment, feeling her face becoming hotter before the woman spoke again. "Oh, are you an examinee for the Luna Nova exam?" she chirps in fluent Japanese and Akko firmly stands up.

"Yes—" Cringing at how squeaky and cracked her voice was, Akko clears her throat a bit and repeated, "Yes, I am." She points at the door. "This—this is the right room, right?" She hopes so. It's tedious to go back to that building map back at the lobby.

"Why, of course." The woman with strange blue hair said. With an excited smile, she opens the door and beckons Akko to go inside. She then notices the book she held under her arm. _Magic Astronomy_.

Was this woman… a proctor? Well, she doesn't look _witchy_. Not as witchy as Shiny Chariot, anyway.

Akko stepped into the room and her eyes landed on the wide study hall where only… three people were seated? Just that? Akko knew a lot of people didn't really care about witches but seriously, this is just depleting to her beliefs.

The first girl she saw was seated in the middle of the seat, a girl with curly hair with dark-rimmed glasses. She didn't really look Japanese; more or less she came off from a foreigner or something. The blonde on the left-most hall was definitely a foreigner. And then there was an older, burly looking woman at the front-right, her pen gliding across her fingers effortlessly. They all looked very reluctant being here.

What the heck… Where was determination!? Are they really the examinees that wanted to take the LN exam? Because to Akko, they just looked like a bunch of girls seated in a room because they were strictly told to.

Somebody just cleared their throat. Akko looked to her right and saw an old, tall foreign lady standing behind the desk. She had odd, bright green hair which cut into a bob cut, thus framing her face. Akko could have assumed she used to be a very pretty woman back when she was younger but the scowl she had plastered on her face managed to dismiss the thought.

Akko decides to acknowledge her outfit, a very professional black blazer over a green button-up blouse. "You must be an examinee, correct?" The woman asks. Akko nods and showed her purple ID to the woman and she barely cocked a brow before motioning her to take a seat. Akko did just that.

Wow, she already didn't like the woman and they hadn't even exchanged words yet. The young brunette solely chose the spot at the back center, where she could see the backs of the other three girls and she fidgeted in her seat. It felt really empty here, kind of, and it sort threw Akko off. But she didn't really care. She should mind her own business for now. After all, she has a goal and she needs to dish it out before anything else. She took out her notebook and did one last scrutinized reviewing of notes before she heard the voice of the blue-haired woman from earlier and she pulled up her head.

"Alright, is, um, is this everyone who's going to take the examination?" She asks, a clipboard on her hand, looking quite awkward with the number of students. Akko frowns a bit and looks over at the door, expecting it to burst open and see students filling in the room but after a few more seconds, the woman looks over to the older one and said, "Okay, I believe this is all of them, Professor Badcock."

She turned back to them again. "So, um," she cleared her throat and bowed her head down. "Good morning to each and every one of you all. I believe all of you have known that today is the entrance examination of the prestigious Luna Nova Magical Academy back in Britain." Akko nods affirmatively. "We have held this examination in Japan for the sole purpose of further diversifying magic and students altogether from across the globe.

The Headmistress of Luna Nova Academy had the idea that if we were to expand our selection of witches, we should go farther east. However, since Japan is unable to resolve magic into their land and with the absence of any Philosopher's Stone in the vicinity, we were tasked to do the traditional examination instead."

Akko has read from her research and the internet that most witches nowadays have to be in close locality of a Philosopher's Stone in order for their magic to work. Without the stone, they would have to regard the saved energy inside them and in their wands, which is often enough to fire off several spells before going off (but that often depends on the magical prowess of a witch).

"And so, the Luna Nova Examination. I and Professor Samantha Badcock here will be the ones to oversee you girls. My name is Professor Ursulla Callistis, though you may call me Professor Ursula instead." All of the sudden, another shot of impulse coursed through Akko and she threw her hand up. Professor Ursula's eyes went to her. "Yes, Miss… err…"

Akko stood up from her spot as the other three girls turned to her and said, "A-Atsuko Kagari, Professor. I know this is a sudden question but, uhh, if you two really are witches from Luna Nova then, er, why aren't dressed as so?"

Professor Ursula widened her eyes and something fell in Akko's stomach. Was that too much? _Stupid question, stupid question, stupid question, stupid question_ … Why did she ask that in the first place!? It's not her business to know why they're dressed like some normal teachers, why hadn't she just shut up and let herself study, oh god, she looks stupid, isn't she, with those three girls looking at her like the stupid, awkward girl that she was—

"Yeah, was wondering the same thing," suddenly, the girl in front added, her pen yet again spinning in circles. "I mean, no offense, but I was, uh, expecting some kind of navy robes, really. Sorry, Professor."

Professor Ursula smiled an uneasy smile. "Oh, no, it's okay. But if you really want to know, the facilitators had advised to dress in more, let's say, modern fashion so that we won't cause much of a scene."

Professor Badcock was scowling, murmuring something about 'cosplay' and 'revolting' before sighing in a condescending way. Akko just stood there, and realizing she has already received her answer, she squeaked out, "Ah… O-Okay then." and sat back down to her seat.

After a second, Professor Ursula beamed a soft smile at her, her eyes hidden away by her light of her glasses before saying, "But if you really want proof of our professionalism in magic, Miss Kagari, then I suppose it won't hurt to demonstrate a bit of magic."

Huh? Akko looked up, stumped by her reply and saw Professor Ursula glancing at Professor Badcock, as though she was asking permission before the green-haired witch just rolled a shoulder. Professor Ursula's smile grew wider and her right hand went behind her before she produced a mold of wood clamped by iron on each end. One end had a polyhedron shape of sorts and the other a u-shaped disk with a circle inside it. Akko leaned forward in her seat, eyes glazed with awe and curiosity as Professor Ursula handed the tool.

Professor Ursula held the mold carefully and flicked it to the side, which then the u-shaped end extended at least a foot and Akko gasped. It was a _wand_! She then held the wand just above her head and with a twirl, green light began to escape from it, even some sparkles. Professor Ursula twirled the wand several more times before the green light began to shine and glimmer.

With grace, she flicked the wand into Akko's general direction and green burst of energy was released. A bird of light was shot out from the wand and wandered across the ceilings, leaving a trail of sparkles behind its tail.

Akko gaped as the magical creature swooped down to her spot in the room and flew around her, she having the hardest time keeping up her eyes with it. The bird did it more spins before it suddenly stopped right in front of her eyes and then, with a final tab of its wings, it burst into stardust.

Wow… She hasn't seen something like that since Shiny Chariot's show and that was… seven or six years? But still, that was _amazing_. She held out her hand below the trail of stardust and a sense of nostalgia draped over her like a soft blanket. When the glimmer landed on her palms, on reflex, she closed her hands together and held it near her.

"Now, how was that?" Akko snapped out of her stupor and her eyes landed back to Professor Ursula who was beaming softly, a thrilling glint in her eyes as she placed her wand back to her pocket.

"It was amazing, Professor!" Akko quickly said, her heart still racing fast after the small show. "I haven't seen anything like that since Shiny Chariot's performance here in Japan!" She heard a few snickers of mockery but ignored it.

Professor Ursula's eyes widened in surprise, but if Akko hadn't been so indulged by the demo of magic, she would've noticed how the clipboard she held was twitching in her hold. She slightly fidgeted, her hand reaching up to her face to scratch her cheek. "Is, is that so, Miss Kagari? Thank—Thank you," she said.

Was that being sheepish? Akko didn't know but she just nodded her head and looked back at her palms. The sprinkle of magic which landed there had finally disappeared. A disappointed feeling welled inside the brunette as she let her hands stay atop of the desk, already missing the childhood feeling of being wondered and in awe within the face of magic. She looked up front again and looked over to the two witch professors who continued to talk and there Akko noticed that each on their belts was their respective wands.

Akko imagined herself holding such a tool. How easily she could feel, _do_ the wonders that Shiny Chariot had done many years ago. With just a flick of a wrist, she could hundreds of creatures, spread joy across the globe, and witness the smiles of many, many people…

"This exam will start by 10 AM and will end in 11 thirty," Professor Badcock said, holding four stapled papers in her hands. "Ergo, it will last an hour and a half. There will be no extension of time nor will there be any retakes after you have taken the exam."

The young brunette clenched her hands. She wants this. She wants this so bad it's starting to make her scowl.

"The results will be sent to you via letter," she continued. "You will receive them approximately two months after this exam, so please be wary of any letters sent to your address. If you are not accepted, you can comeback a year later to retake this test and try again. Now, please take out your pencils and place all of your bags at the back."

Akko took out her trusted red stencil and placed her bag in the right corner far away from her and returned to her seat, the others following her actions as they begin to hold their pens in their hands. She grips hers uneasily as her heart hammered in her ribcage. She sees Professor Ursula distributing the test papers to each girl, starting from the burly girl in the front to the glassed girl several seats below her.

"As you all have known, there will be _strictly no_ cheating," Professor Badcock added. "Anybody who will be caught shall be immediately kicked out of the examination room and be revoked of her examiner's ID."

' _This is it…'_ Akko thinks as Professor Ursula hands her the test paper last along with navy violet-themed answering sheet.

Akko inspected her exam. Four papers. Front page had the Luna Nova symbol; a ring-shaped emblem with three arrows pointing from the top and bottom. Her answering sheet had eighty numbers of a multiple-choicer test and from the bottom, a box with six lines designated for an essay test worth of twenty points. A hundred of points all in all.

She placed it in front of her neatly and glanced at her watch. Forty seconds before the test. She closed her eyes and prayed to Buddha, Jennifer, God, and whatever deity there was to wish to her good luck to the exam.

"The exam begins…" Akko sucked in a breath. She gripped her pen tighter. "Now."

Her hands graced along the edges of the test paper and she flipped it open.

-.-.-.-.-.-

 **Whooo!**

 **I finally updated this after a** _ **long**_ **time! Though I'm still not too keen on my grammar. I think I typed too fast but then again, can you really blame me? I have four documents open on word, six tabs on Google and one for Encarta dictionaries. (Technically there are only four softwares open but having horrible attention span is as fascinating as a giraffe riding a gun).**

 **Anyway, hope ya bois like this chapter! Though it's really OOC for Akko but I just wrote this on a whimsical thought. And I didn't really know where that 5 touch, 4 touch thing came, it just popped up lol**

 **Leave a review, follow or favorite!**


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